


Across the Stars

by galactic-pirates (stillsearching47)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 06:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10507842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillsearching47/pseuds/galactic-pirates
Summary: The clone wars are in full swing. Darkness is casting a shadow over the galaxy, and only the Jedi's faith in the force keeps them from despair. It is a dark time for the Republic. Jedi Knight Belle French is about to go into battle on Balmorra, when her instincts lead her away from the war, towards her former Master - Rum Gold.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MarieQuiteContrarie (SeaStar1330)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeaStar1330/gifts).



> Happy Birthday _mariequitecontrarie_! I wanted to write you something because you are a lovely person and deserve nice things. I hope this is a nice thing. Anyway, I wanted it to be special for you, and something you would like, so I did some snooping around your blog. I discovered your favorite movie was Return of the Jedi, so here’s some Star Wars Rumbelle style.
> 
> It’s just a short fic, but like all my verses this is open to prompts, so if you/anyone want more than just ask. I really hope you like it and happy birthday! :)

The clone wars were in full swing, darkness was casting a shadow over the galaxy. The Jedi Council spoke of victory, assigned the masters to be Generals, and sent all but the most inexperienced Padawans to the front line. Only the younglings were spared the horror of war, the sights and sounds of which Jedi Knight Belle French would never forget. They were taught to be mindful of their feelings, to have faith in the force, but no matter what the council or the senate claimed they were losing.

Belle could feel it.

Darkness clouded everything. Her connection to the force was stronger than some, weaker than others, but the force spoke the truth. She wasn’t the only one that could feel it, there were whispers in every corner of the temple on Coruscant. Their faith in the force kept them from succumbing to despair but the galaxy was slipping away from them. The savior - Jedi Knight Emma Swan - was supposed to bring balance to the force and end the Sith. Emma fought valiantly on the battlefield, side by side with her Master, Regina Mills, but there was no sense that the prophesied battle to decide between light and dark was going to happen anytime soon.

That was if there was even a final battle at all. Belle had once believed so strongly in the prophecy she had fought with her master about it. She had believed passionately in the Jedi code, in bringing an end to the Sith so that they never returned. The galaxy had always been cyclical, Empire and Republic, Jedi and Sith, waxing and waning over thousands of years. The Jedi Council believed that the prophecy meant that was at an end. Her master had disagreed, he had always been outspoken. Jedi Master Rum Gold had gained his Council seat through his strength in the force, and his tactical brilliance, not because he’d been well liked.

It had been over a year since Belle had last laid eyes on her master. The Jedi Council believed he was dead, that he had perished in battle, and she had never corrected that assumption. The bond between them, formed when she was a padawan, was weak but it was still there. If he had died then she would have felt it. No, Rum Gold wasn’t dead, he’d left on his own. At first she’d been furious, but even then she’d understood why. If it hadn’t been for the clone wars then he would almost certainly have been stripped of his rank and maybe even imprisoned.

The prophecy only spoke of bringing balance to the force, the assumption was that meant the end of the Sith, but the prophecy didn’t specify that. Her master had thought it meant true balance, a mix of light and dark, not Jedi _or_ Sith but both. That was a dangerous belief to hold, far too similar to what the cult of Revan believed. Revanites were branded dissidents and considered very dangerous. For a Jedi Master, one who was seated on the Council, to be likened to them - no, Belle couldn’t blame him for leaving.

“General French.” Gaston, the leader of the clone troop Belle commanded, strode into her tent. He saluted and stood at attention. “Ready to begin the assault on the droid factory on your orders.”

“Thank you Gaston,” Belle said, opening her eyes.

She should have been meditating, but her thoughts had been difficult to put in order. The galaxy was falling to darkness and she was powerless to stop it. The force was with her, she was well trained with her lightsaber, but she was just a single Jedi Knight. Belle got to her feet and stretched. She had named Gaston herself, she’d had to because she worked with him closely. He might be a clone, but she still couldn’t bring herself to call him by a number. The clones weren’t droids, they felt pain, they suffered and they died; the least they could do was give them a name. There was power in a name.

Belle stepped out of her tent, blinking until her eyes adjusted to the bright sunshine. Balmorra was one of the galaxies leading planets when it came to producing advanced droids and weaponry. The planet itself was loyal to the Republic, but the corporations weren’t above selling to the Separatists and then claiming their shipments had been stolen. At first their claims had been believed, but far too much Balmorran technology had wound up in Separatist hands and the Jedi Council had investigated.

In the name of the Republic the corporations had been ordered to cease their treasonous ways, and turn over control of the factories. All but one had agreed, and the lone holdout was why Belle and her troop had been dispatched. They were going to take it by force. Balmorra was a lovely planet, with lots of green plains and mountainous rock. Belle privately hoped that the war would stay localized, she had seen far too many war-torn planets and she really didn’t want to turn Balmorra into another scarred wasteland.

“Start the assault,” Belle ordered, unclipping her lightsaber from her belt.

She froze. Suddenly she knew why meditating had been so difficult, it hadn’t been the war clouding her mind, it had been the prickle of awareness she’d been denying and calling wishful thinking. However, as she stood there, her weakened padawan bond exploded to full strength. She could feel her Master again and he was close, really close. Belle turned and glanced around, searching more with her feelings than with her eyes. She was supposed to join the assault, she could hear the sounds of battle starting behind her, but her instincts were leading her away from the war - towards Rum.

Belle broke into a run, heading towards the rocky outcropping that sheltered their camp from the rear. She scrambled over rocks, through the split between two peaks and came face to face with her lost Master. He looked well, he’d traded in his white Jedi tunic for dark colored armor, the kind favored by Bounty Hunters. He’d always been vocal about how foolish it was just to rely on the force to protect them, when a little bit of armor decreased the risk.

“Belle,” Rum breathed, his hand reached out to touch her arm, almost as if he didn’t really believe that she was standing in front of him.

“Master,” Belle said neutrally, a little bit of her old anger creeping over her. He’d never even said goodbye, he’d just faked his death and assumed she would lie to the Council for him.

Rum winced. “Don’t call me that, Belle. I haven’t been your master in some time now.” He peered through the rocks, towards her clone troop. “We must leave immediately. We need to get to the space port before they block our transport from leaving.”

“Excuse me? I’m not going with you anywhere, I’m not abandoning my post!” Belle stated furiously.

The comm unit on the ground bleeped. Rum grabbed it, his eyes closing as he sighed. “We have even less time than I thought. Listen to this and then see if you want to return to your post.”

A harsh sinister voice came on the comms, it sent chills down Belle’s spine, it practically radiated evil. She almost didn’t need the force to tell her that she was hearing the Sith Lord they’d been looking for, it was like the scales had fallen from her eyes.

“Execute Order 66,” the Sith Lord ordered.

“Confirmed, Order 66,” Gaston acknowledged.

“That was ... that was ...” Belle’s head snapped over to look, the battle had halted. Her clones were swarming around, they were forming search parties, there could be no mistaking what she had heard - they’d received new orders.

“They’ve been ordered to kill you Belle,” Rum hissed urgently. “Order 66, to destroy all the Jedi. Use the force, search your feelings, I’m not lying.”

A single tear tracked down Belle’s face. No, Rum wasn’t lying. She could feel her fellow Jedi dying in droves; their fear, their shock, their pain, sending ripples through the force.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions but we need to go now,” Rum continued.

Belle nodded distantly. She did have a lot of questions but the shock was overwhelming. Rum slipped his hand into hers and tugged, spurring her to move. She stumbled alongside him, through the narrow rocky pass, to the dirt track beyond where a speeder was parked. Belle jumped on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist as he kicked the speeder into high gear. They lurched forward, travelling along at speeds that only a force-sensitive could manage, leaning from side to side and missing obstacles by inches.

“Come on,” Rum coaxed, jumping off the speeder, and taking her hand again once they reached the space port.

There were already clones crawling all over the main entrance, so they headed for a service entrance on the side. Belle was following him automatically, through the twists and turns of the metallic corridors of the space port. She was assuming he had a ship, he’d obviously been planning this for a while, and now the shock was wearing off she really wanted to know how that was possible. Rum had known about Order 66 before it happened. Why hadn’t he told the Jedi Council? He’d saved her but he could have saved them all.

“A smugglers ship?” Belle arched an eyebrow, at the lone freighter this hanger held.

“It doesn’t attract attention,” Rum explained. He smiled wryly. “She’s not as beat up as she looks, and she’s faster and got more weapons than anyone would expect.”

He trotted up the stairs and Belle followed. The stairs started to retract the second she was onboard, they really were in a hurry. Rum strode through the ship, he wasn’t much taller than she was but it was all she could do to keep up. She opened her mouth to confront him and the words died in her throat. The cockpit wasn’t empty.

“Master Mills,” Belle gasped. She frowned, her hand drifting down to her lightsaber. “Where’s Emma?”

“Down below, trying to find something edible on this rust bucket,” Regina told her. She turned to Rum, who was flicking switches and turning dials like they were in a race, which Belle supposed they were - a race for their lives. “Really Gold, you couldn’t have found a ship that was at least _one_ step up from a bag of bolts. I’ve seen better equipped bantha feeders.”

“Well your majesty if the accommodations aren’t suitable, you know where to find the exit,” Rum said distractedly. “Aha,” he huffed in satisfaction as the engine roared to life. He twisted to look at Belle. “You might want to strap in, we’ll be making the jump to hyperspace the second we clear the atmosphere.”

“I’ll tell Emma,” Belle volunteered, as Regina claimed the co-pilots seat.

Belle gave the second master one last searching glance before leaving. She had never quite trusted Master Mills, though she wasn’t surprised that she was here. Regina Mills had been Rum’s first padawan; she had just taken her trials when Emma had been located and brought to Coruscant. The Council hadn’t wanted Emma to be trained, even while they called her their savior, she was too old and her future too uncertain. Belle didn’t know entirely what had happened, Rum hadn’t selected her as his second padawan until shortly afterwards, but she was certain her master had a hand in it.

Whatever had happened, in the end the Council had agreed that Regina could take Emma as her padawan. Regina’s abrasive personality hadn’t endeared her to the Council, so she hadn’t cared about their disapproval. Belle had wondered occasionally why Rum hadn’t taken Emma as his own padawan, Regina taking a padawan so soon after her trials was incredibly unusual. Belle's courage usually never failed her, but she’d never quite worked up the nerve to ask him. She was just grateful that he hadn’t because a master could only have one padawan at a time, and she couldn’t imagine a life without him in it. The four of them had undertaken many missions together before the clone wars split the Jedi Order and sent them all over the galaxy.

The ship vibrated under Belle’s feet, sending her crashing into the walls. While she didn’t want to agree with Master Mills, this ship didn’t seem particularly stable. Even with the artificial gravity, her stomach still dropped when they rocketed out of the space port. Belle stumbled, practically falling down the stairs to the lower deck. She grabbed onto the hatch on the wall to stay upright, her eyes widening when she saw that Emma wasn’t alone. There was a man Belle didn’t know, who looked to be about the same age as them, who was strapping in a boy who looked like he might be about ten years old.

“Rum said to strap in,” Belle told them, even though that was a little redundant as they’d clearly already realized that fact.

Unsteadily she lurched across the room, finding her own seat and strapping in, just as Emma and the unknown man did the same opposite. She looked at them both, the unknown man and the boy had the same eyes, the same hair and the same smile. They were obviously father and son, but something else tugged at Belle’s senses. She’d never laid eyes on either of them but there was something very familiar.

“Rum,” Belle whispered to herself.

Jedi weren’t supposed to have attachments. They were supposed to fight for the Republic because of the ideals they held, because it was right. Jedi didn’t need a reason, they swore their lives to the order and they followed the code. Rum had never been very good at following the code, and it seemed that went far beyond anything she had ever expected. He’d had a family, and the Council had obviously never known about it.

She knew that she should be appalled. Attachments were forbidden, Jedi were not permitted to love because it was dangerous. Love led to fear, fear led to anger, anger led to hate and hate led to the dark side. She remembered Master Blue’s teachings but she had never really agreed with them. Belle knew it went against the code _‘there is no emotion, there is peace’_ and _‘there is no passion, there is serenity’_ and love was definitely passionate and emotional but she had never thought love was wrong.

Love was wonderful, love was amazing, love was hope and it fueled dreams. That was what love was, love brought strength not weakness. Everywhere she turned in the galaxy, if she saw love then it was a good thing. It brought happiness, and yes it could also bring pain but nothing that was worth anything came without a price. Belle didn’t think love was inherently bad, it was only if the love was possessive and people couldn’t let go that problems developed. What were they fighting for, if not for something as pure and good as love?

“You’re Belle right? I’m Bae,” Bae introduced, there was something in his gaze, but Belle couldn’t identify what it was.

“That’s right,” Belle admitted, frowning as Emma leaned over to adjust the boys straps. Her actions didn’t read as the clinical help of a Jedi, they were lingering, almost motherly.

Bae gave a bark of laughter and smiled warmly at her. “Papa always said you were good. He’ll explain everything after we clear the core worlds. He always wanted to tell you, but he hoped that you’d be able to choose for yourself. You still can I guess. You’re welcome to leave, you’ll have to hide because they’re exterminating Jedi out there, but you can go wherever you want.”

Belle straightened in her seat, as much as she could strapped down, and gave her best command stare. “I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

In her head Belle added _‘not until I get some answers’_ but that wasn’t strictly true. She wanted to know how Rum had come to learn of Order 66, and why he hadn’t informed the Jedi Council, but she knew him. He could be ruthlessly pragmatic but he wasn’t heartless. Her grief, outrage and shock had clouded her judgment earlier and she was relieved that she hadn’t had a chance to confront him. Rum would never have let the Jedi be massacred if he could have prevented it. She wasn’t going to leave him voluntarily - not now, not ever.

Emma smirked at her and her eyes met Bae’s. Belle frowned, reaching out with the force. She couldn’t sense anything, and telepathic communication was incredibly rare, yet somehow they seemed to be speaking without words. When they leant back, Emma’s expression was unreadable once more and Bae was looking very self-satisfied. Belle twisted, hearing the sound of groaning metal and a muffled curse. Rum appeared down the stairs.

He smiled tiredly at her. “I believe I owe you some answers.”

Belle met his eyes and, for a moment, it was like they were the only two people in the room. The sight of movement in the corner of her eye broke the connection. Bae strolled forward, and clapped his father on the shoulder.

“Give it time.” Bae winked, before bounding up the stairs. Emma followed, ushering what Belle was certain was her son ahead of her.

“So Belle what would you like to know?” Rum asked, slumping down into the bench seat at the end. Automatically Belle joined him. She slid her hand over his and squeezed gently, and Rum’s hand reached up to tuck a loose tendril of hair behind her ear.

She smiled softly at him. “Tell me about your son.”


End file.
